Blood Set 4: The Star & Speech Sounds.

​"In many parts of the world that night a pallid halo encircled it about." Imagine a giant star getting bigger and bigger in the sky as it surges towards the Earth. This image best captures my perception of what millions of people must have seen as the star approached. The ominous presence of the star brightening the night's sky as it gets closer and closer. The beauty of such a natural phenomenon would captivate people with a sense of wonder and horror, all at the same time. Their collective observations crying out, "it's nearer, they said, nearer!" Oh how the panic would set in as everyone realizes the total destruction knocking at Earth's door. As the impending doom grows nearer, who of the majority of people would maintain their social norms of remaining calm and collected?

​ The descriptions of different points of view from across the world was interesting and, at the same time, relatable. If the world were ever dealt with a catastrophic calamity, I believe it would react somewhat the same way H. G. Wells depicted in his short story. Some people would probably brush it off, as an elaborate hoax while other would probably act like those intensely paranoid people on "Doomsday Preppers". Either way, the work is absolutely petrifying considering it was published toward the turn of the 19th century. To read such a work during that era, with the scope of knowledge that was available, must have been an experience similar to watching one’s first apocalyptic movie. Mine was "The Road" in 2009. After watching this movie, I was perplexed by mankind’s instincts of survival. The movie just stuck with me for some time; I would hypothesize about how I would react if I knew the world was potentially coming to an end. Speaking of endings, what was that about the Martian astronomers looking back at us? That was such a neat twist of events, showing advanced life on other worlds within our solar system. The notion of the story concluding with humans on Earth struggling because a missile was flung through our solar system brings up several questions. Who was the real target of the missile? Who fired the missile, if not the Martians? Why would anyone fire a missile at our planet? Bravo, Wells. Bravo.

Speech Sounds:

              Want a haunting glimpse to an apocalyptic scenario where people have been inflected with a strange virus that affects them through either loss of speech, neurological impairment or death? Speech Sounds is the story for you. Readers are introduced to Valerie Rye: a young woman, former mother, and wife that survived the plague that killed her three children and husband. The world population has been infected with a unique virus that takes away the "strength" most often used by the victim, such as speech, reading, or impaired judgment. What I find so interesting is that Valerie use to be a history professor at UCLA before the sickness occurred. She could read, write, and communicate fluently in her previous life, so to be struck down with this mass pandemic must have been devastating for her because she lost her ability to communicate. But at the end of the story, we find out that she can communicate even though she's lost her ability to read. She was just playing along with the majority in order to survive. 

              This short story has a magnitude of emotions and common life experiences. As a guy, I can relate to Obsidian and his choice to protect others selflessly rather than to wait at home for the inevitable. His interactions with Rye are characteristic of what any “good guy” would do when faced with such end-of-the-world circumstances. I also found it a bit humorous when Rye wanted to kill Obsidian in a fit of jealousy when she witnessed the fact that he could read. If I had my speech take away from me without choice, I would also feel incredibly jealous just like Rye. Even though the short story displayed sundry human emotional struggles and causes for reaction, I'm wondering who was the sick fuck that made up such a horrendously evil virus to unleash onto mankind? And why? Without communication and constructive cognitive thought, wouldn't any sort of peace bargaining become obsolete?